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STUDENT PROFILE
TYUS BATTLE ’20
On Basketball and Technology BY: JEFF RUBIN ’95 G’98
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first met Tyus Battle ’20 when he was being recruited to Syracuse, and then-assistant basketball coach Mike Hopkins (now head coach at University of Washington) brought him into my office in Hinds Hall. Prior to the visit, Hopkins mentioned that Tyus was interested in technology and thought that the iSchool might be a good fit for him. Tyus visited with his father, and we talked about the school, the opportunities here, potential career paths in technology, and I had the opportunity to show him how I bring some of that together at SIDEARM sports and in the classroom. Not too much later, I saw that he committed to Syracuse, and in the fall, he was in my IST 195 (Introduction to Information Technology) class. Tyus rarely missed a class (except when games had him traveling), and unlike most students he always sat in the first or second row. Needless to say, Tyus was engaged and it was truly a pleasure having him in class. Being a student athlete is a challenge, and I don’t think a lot of people understand what is asked and expected of them. Student athletes don’t necessarily ask for the spotlight, but the spotlight (and sometimes a microscope) is given to them. Being a student athlete is more than just the games and the practices, it’s the community outreach that they do, the travel, getting back from a game at 2:00 a.m. and then being there in class a few hours later at 8:30 a.m. That’s a lot to ask of anybody and I have always had the utmost respect for the ones like Tyus that do it without complaining. I give Tyus, and all student athletes, a lot of credit for being able to find that balance—being *Editor’s Note: Following able to have the success he does on the court the close of the 2019 college and also be present and engaged in the classbasketball season, and after room. Tyus defines a student athlete. this interview, Tyus Battle When Tyus made the decision last summer to announced that he was withdrawing from college remove his name from consideration for the NBA play and the SU team to draft and come back to Syracuse*, I was happy enter the National Basketball for him and glad to have him back on campus for Association draft. He plans another year. Honestly, whatever decision he to continue his studies at made I would have been happy for him. Tyus is a Syracuse University and is great advocate for Syracuse University. He’s a on track to graduate in 2020 leader on the court, he’s down to earth and with a degree in information understands the importance of finding that management and technology balance between what he wants to do in his from the SU School of Information Studies.
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THE iSCHOOL @ SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY
profession, basketball, but also working to complete his degree at Syracuse University. I had an opportunity to speak with Tyus in my office recently, and our interview is below. It has been lightly edited for length and clarity. JEFF: How and when did you become interested in technology? TYUS: It’s funny — when I was really young, I was a huge video game guy. I loved playing video games. So I told myself, as a second plan, I wanted to be a video game creator. At the time I also liked to draw and make things as well, but video games were my first introduction to technology. I was a huge Call of Duty fan growing up, and still am, actually. I play Fortnite a little bit, too. I’m pretty good. The whole team is kind of addicted, too, everyone gets addicted to it! But Call of Duty is my favorite, I just love it. JEFF: You see professional athletes, like Steph Curry and Lebron James, investing in tech and startups. Is that something you could ever see yourself wanting to get involved in? TYUS: Oh yeah, definitely. Everything is technology-based now. Look at sports, there’s statistics, at practice we wear these Zephyr vests to track our heart rate, measure how much energy we’re expending out on the floor. Everything is tracked on this system, it’s amazing. JEFF: How have you used this technology to help you be more competitive on the court? TYUS: They’re not just tracking rebounds, like offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, they’re tracking where you’re getting those rebounds from, how you’re positioning yourself to get them, and so on. You can dive so deep into your stats, look through the analytics, all while you’re re-watching the film from the game. I watch film before every game. I actually watch it with my dad, both of us together on FaceTime, clips of myself—the good and the bad plays—and clips of the team as a whole. And then as a team, we watch film of the team we’re going to be playing. It helps me see the mistakes I’m making and correct them. I’m much more of a visual learner, so when I see the good plays, it helps me to reinforce those movements.
